BSI's predecessor was the cryptographic department of Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND). BSI still designs cryptographic algorithms such as the Libelle cipher and initiated the development of the Gpg4win cryptographic suite.

The National Institute of Communication Technologies INTECO[2] (Spain)

Unlike those organizations, BSI is focused on IT-security rather than being part of an organisation with a more general IT-standards remit. BSI is separate from Germany's signals intelligence, which is part of the military and the foreign intelligence service (BND). However, it is unknown whether there is still some form of informal cooperation between the BSI and the BND.